Chapter 61: Foul-mouthed, Deserves A Beating
Shang Wan heard the voice and looked over; with a mouth this foul, he needed to be buried in some remote spot.
A group of scholars wearing blue long robes and Confucian headscarves walked in from the wood workshop’s main gate.
The leader was quite tall, slightly plump, with a square face, thick eyebrows, small eyes, and slightly thick lips; he looked about twenty years old, and it was he who had just spoken those words.
“Sister, he is Yan Rui, Master Qiao’s cousin; he has been at odds with brother-in-law since county school.”
Shi Tou sidled over and whispered a little report to Shang Wan.
“Once he forced brother-in-law to compete with him in pitch-pot; loser drinks. Brother-in-law pushed through his illness to compete with him, but Yan Rui cheated midway. Brother-in-law won in the end, but was forced to drink a lot and developed a high fever when he got back. If the doctor hadn’t come quickly, he might not have made it.”
Shi Tou still felt lingering fear as he spoke of it.
Lu Chengjing had been only fifteen then; young people couldn’t stand being provoked and he unwittingly fell for Yan Rui’s scheme, suffering a big hidden loss.
Shang Wan’s eyes darkened slightly; this event was not in the original host’s memory—either it happened before the original host married Lu Chengjing, or it was in those blank memory fragments.
Yan Rui arrogantly lifted his chin, looking down at him through his nostrils. “Lu Chengjing, weren’t you quite the talker before? What, after your leg broke, your mouth went mute too?”
Lu Chengjing lazily lifted his eyelids. “Yan Xu’an, have you finished copying three hundred times?”
“Don’t get smug!” Yan Rui’s face changed instantly. “You just got lucky and beat me once; you won’t have another chance. That trash article deserves to be copied by me?”
Shi Tou spoke up to correct him. “Not once, seven hundred thirty-six times.”
In writing articles and composing poetry, Yan Rui had lost to Lu Chengjing a total of seven hundred thirty-six times, each one making Yan Rui so furious he wanted to spit blood.
Ever since Lu Chengjing entered county school to study, no matter major or minor examinations, whenever he participated, his scores always surpassed Yan Rui’s, and the masters’ praise shifted from Yan Rui to Lu Chengjing.
Yan Rui wished he could chew up this hypocritical wretch Lu Chengjing and swallow him, never to see that detestable face again!
“Brother Yan, why waste words on this cripple.” One scholar stepped forward, his gaze sweeping contemptuously over Lu Chengjing. “His hand tendons are severed; he can never hold a brush again—how can he compare to you?”
“Right,” another scholar chimed in. “He’s a family reject; talking to him degrades our status.”
One scholar snorted coldly. “Doesn’t he just rely on his good looks to always act superior and look down on people? Now with broken hand and leg, what good are looks?”
“Brother Qin, you are mistaken,” one scholar said, his gaze lingering meaningfully on Lu Chengjing’s face. “With just this face alone, there’s a fine place to go; I hear that Nanfeng…”
Before he finished speaking, that scholar was kicked flying by Shang Wan, curling up on the ground and crying out in pain nonstop.
Yan Rui looked at Shang Wan’s face, a flash of amazement in his eyes, but then he remembered his fellow student who had been kicked away, darkened his face, and sternly shouted at Shang Wan, “In broad daylight, how dare you hurt someone?”
“Foul mouth, deserves a beating.” Shang Wan coldly swept her gaze over the crowd of scholars. “Sour grapes is fine, be a lemon if you want; I don’t care to argue with you, but…”
“Him,” Shang Wan pointed at the scholar who had been helped up by the Qin-surnamed scholar, “filthy thoughts, spewing shit from his mouth—utterly disgusting! You all fancy yourselves scholars, yet among your peers there’s such a vile, filthy sort; have you read the sages’ books into a dog’s belly?”
Yan Rui sneered. “A mere woman, ignorant and incompetent— what does she know of sages’ books? Lu Chengjing, you can’t even control your own woman; I look down on you.”
“My niangzi is fine.” Lu Chengjing coldly looked at Yan Rui. “Toward niangzi, one ought to respect and value her, revere and love her, be modest and trustworthy to her, make her clear and treat her with propriety. Niangzi is not a servant—where does ‘control’ come in? Besides, this is a family matter; what business is it of yours?”
“Indulging your womenfolk to hurt people on the street—if you won’t manage it, the government will.” Malice flashed in Yan Rui’s eyes as he raised his hand to send someone to report to the officials.
“Go ahead and report to the officials, the sooner the better.”
Shang Wan crossed her arms, staring at Yan Rui’s face—which nowhere met her aesthetic standards—and disdainfully pursed her lips.
“Perfect chance to call all the county school’s masters; I’ll properly consult them on whether county school’s students are all like you, spewing malice, all unfilial and unbrotherly sorts!”
“When have we been unfilial and unbrotherly?”
Shang Wan pointed at Yan Rui and asked the crowd of scholars, “Do you agree with what he just said?”
All the scholars nodded; weren’t women just ignorant?
“A mere woman, ignorant and incompetent.” Shang Wan repeated it, then coldly questioned the crowd. “Do you have mothers at home? Sisters? Publicly insulting mother and sisters, spewing malice—is unfilial and unbrotherly; how have I wronged you in any point?”
“Y-y-you’re twisting words!”
“That’s not what we meant.”
“Don’t talk nonsense!”
Shang Wan ignored their reddening faces and called out loudly to Lu Chengjing. “Husband, how would county school’s masters punish such unfilial and unbrotherly sorts?”
Lu Chengjing was stunned by Shang Wan’s call; this was the first time she had called him husband to his face. But he quickly recovered, his voice cool. “For those with official rank, report upward and strip the rank. For those without, expel from the school and revoke imperial examination eligibility.”
Shang Wan: She had just said it casually; why were the consequences so severe?
Hearing Lu Chengjing finish, the scholars panicked and urged Yan Rui to drop it, no need to argue with a woman like Shang Wan. Even the one who got beaten joined in persuading, afraid of being expelled from county school.
Yan Rui said urgently, “Lu Chengjing is scaring you with tall tales; don’t fall for it! If the masters really come, I’ll explain to them myself.”
The scholars were somewhat swayed upon hearing this, when Lu Chengjing’s voice timely sounded. “It’s been days since I saw the masters; I happen to have a question to consult them on.”
The scholars’ restless hearts immediately settled.
If it came to making the masters choose between trusting Yan Rui and Lu Chengjing, they would likely choose Lu Chengjing; better not gamble their futures on it.
“Brother Yan, forget it.”
“Let’s go; the banquet will start soon.”
“Yeah, Brother Yun still needs to see the doctor.”
The scholars chattered noisily urging Yan Rui, infuriating him so much he clenched his fists and inwardly cursed them as idiots several times—how could one sentence from Lu Chengjing fool them all?
He glared fiercely at Lu Chengjing, then left in a huff amid the crowd of scholars’ escort.
But Lu Chengjing suddenly called after him. “Yan Xu’an, I have something to tell you.”
Yan Rui turned his head, warily staring at Lu Chengjing—what bad fart was this guy holding in now?
“Last minor examination, the master graded your article as top.”
Yan Rui frowned impatiently. “What are you getting at?”
Lu Chengjing’s lips curved slightly, his gaze toward Yan Rui tinged with pity.
Yan Rui immediately had a bad premonition.
